Six Days to Create a World, Dealing with Life's Problems

Earlier today I mentioned how my home must be the only place in the world where things like onion powder and garlic powder are locked up tighter than Ft. Knox because J loves the taste of them. It's true! He tries eating them straight from the bottle and sometimes mixes them with water (again. In the bottle. *sigh*) because a) someone left them out and b) he's decided he's hungry. I love his sense of independence but yeah, being busy doing something else and then detecting the overpowering smell of garlic in the house is so not fun. J? Really. It's okay. I'm not that busy, I can fill your tummy with something a lot more filling. On the plus side, vampires, were they real, would never go near him. He'd be totally safe. 
  But I digress. A friend commented on my sense of humor on that post. It got me to thinking how I got that one down, but I still have so many life lessons to learn:patience, hospitality, frugality, not worrying...I could probably go on and on, but you get the picture. It occurred to me though, as I was thinking about what I still need to learn, is that God does not expect us to learn all these lessons at one time. We may feel at times that a whole laundry list of trouble gets dumped into our laps all at once sometimes, but life lessons don't really get resolved in tidy little packages. 
  Take worry, for example. Johnny needs braces, Susie is close to flunking algebra, the car needs two new tires, the bills are all coming due, and in three weeks is Cousin Erma's wedding, and tomorrow is...  STOP! Slow down, sister! Go back to Genesis chapter one. God decided to create and POOF! He did it all it once. Right? Wrong! He took six days to create all of this. Each day had its own task. On the seventh day, He rested. I think he did it in this way as an example to us, especially us Mamas who try to tackle the whole world in one day. 
  First of all, our heavenly Father had a plan in mind. He knew how he was going to set up this world and the way he wanted it, and he set about doing it. We need a plan of action as well. 
  And are we content knowing that all is (relatively) well at the moment? If you're like me, not likely. If I have too much time on my hands, I start thinking about tomorrow's (or even next year's) problems. Okay, it's good to plan ahead a little, but coming up with lists of things to worry over is not productive. First of all, when we (I) do that, I'm forgetting that I'm not in this alone.      Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. 
  When asked to teach his followers how to pray, in Matthew 6, verse 11 says "Give us this day our daily bread." That means if we ask, we will be taken care of each day. Will we be given all the answers and get all we want accomplished? Maybe not, but what is needed for each day will be taken care of. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (NIV). Why borrow trouble? God gave us seven days each week, and each day we have enough to attend to without adding more on ourselves. 
  So what do you have planned for today? Will you be cleaning the living room? Finding a tutor for Susie? Or is today a day of rest for you because of your work schedule? Whatever it is you choose to do today, have a plan, but don't take too big of a bite. Take care. 
  And lastly, Matthew 6:24 says 

Earlier today I mentioned how my home must be the only place in the world where things like onion powder and garlic powder are locked up tighter than Ft. Knox because J loves the taste of them. It's true! He tries eating them straight from the bottle and sometimes mixes them with water (again. In the bottle. *sigh*) because a) someone left them out and b) he's decided he's hungry. I love his sense of independence but yeah, being busy doing something else and then detecting the overpowering smell of garlic in the house is so not fun. J? Really. It's okay. I'm not that busy, I can fill your tummy with something a lot more filling. On the plus side, vampires, were they real, would never go near him. He'd be totally safe. 
  But I digress. A friend commented on my sense of humor on that post. It got me to thinking how I got that one down, but I still have so many life lessons to learn:patience, hospitality, frugality, not worrying...I could probably go on and on, but you get the picture. It occurred to me though, as I was thinking about what I still need to learn, is that God does not expect us to learn all these lessons at one time. We may feel at times that a whole laundry list of trouble gets dumped into our laps all at once sometimes, but life lessons don't really get resolved in tidy little packages. 
  Take worry, for example. Johnny needs braces, Susie is close to flunking algebra, the car needs two new tires, the bills are all coming due, and in three weeks is Cousin Erma's wedding, and tomorrow is...  STOP! Slow down, sister! Go back to Genesis chapter one. God decided to create and POOF! He did it all it once. Right? Wrong! He took six days to create all of this. Each day had its own task. On the seventh day, He rested. I think he did it in this way as an example to us, especially us Mamas who try to tackle the whole world in one day. 
  First of all, our heavenly Father had a plan in mind. He knew how he was going to set up this world and the way he wanted it, and he set about doing it. We need a plan of action as well. 
  And are we content knowing that all is (relatively) well at the moment? If you're like me, not likely. If I have too much time on my hands, I start thinking about tomorrow's (or even next year's) problems. Okay, it's good to plan ahead a little, but coming up with lists of things to worry over is not productive. First of all, when we (I) do that, I'm forgetting that I'm not in this alone.      Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. 
  When asked to teach his followers how to pray, in Matthew 6, verse 11 says "Give us this day our daily bread." That means if we ask, we will be taken care of each day. Will we be given all the answers and get all we want accomplished? Maybe not, but what is needed for each day will be taken care of. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (NIV). Why borrow trouble? God gave us seven days each week, and each day we have enough to attend to without adding more on ourselves. 
  So what do you have planned for today? Will you be cleaning the living room? Finding a tutor for Susie? Or is today a day of rest for you because of your work schedule? Whatever it is you choose to do today, have a plan, but don't take too big of a bite. Take care. 
  And lastly, Matthew 6:24 says